E-manufacturing - the roadmap for South African manufacturers
Date
2011-09
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, Department of Industrial Engineering
Abstract
Globalization and the internet have given customers a wide choice of products to choose
from and they are now expecting a lot from products. Customers are demanding more
value, less risk and better integration of products hence products now have a shorter
product life cycle. E-manufacturing can help companies to optimize the use of production
assets, reduce production cycle times and costs to meet these customer requirements.
The paper shows factors that influenced an economy to successfully implement an emanufacturing
model that transformed the economy from a struggling economy into an
advanced economy. E-manufacturing models are discussed. Taiwan is used as a case study
of how engineering chain can be utilized for SMEs to enjoy equally or even higher
competitive advantage than their larger competitors by appropriately utilizing external
networks. The situation in South Africa shows that the country can benefit from the
growth of SMEs and e-manufacturing if networks and a culture of sharing information are
built among SMEs and companies in the country.
Description
The original publication is available at http://www.isem.org.za/index.php/isem/isem2011
Conference of the ISEM 2011 Proceedings, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 21 - 23 September 2011.
Conference theme - Innovative Systems Thinking: Unravelling Complexity for Successful Solutions
Conference of the ISEM 2011 Proceedings, Stellenbosch, South Africa, 21 - 23 September 2011.
Conference theme - Innovative Systems Thinking: Unravelling Complexity for Successful Solutions
Keywords
Citation
Nyanga, L. & Van Der Merwe, A. F. 2011. E-manufacturing - the roadmap for South African manufacturers. Presented at the ISEM 2011 Proceedings, September 21-23, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa.